Na Shledanou

Her heart is broken into pieces.

But not in the way you are thinking.

Her heart is in pieces because it is sprinkled in every country she has traveled to,
every town she has visited and small parts of it rest in all of the homes of the many people that she loves.

But she doesn't need a full heart.

She would rather live a life where her heart is scattered.

Because when the pieces finally come back together, they make a mosaic of her favorite picture.

The world that she loves.

-Anonymous-

Thank you, Prague.  For adding so many more pieces to the puzzle of my heart.

(Catch up on our lives in Germany at www.glockenspieling.com)

Officially Official

When you are planning to visit a new country, you do a bit of research.  If you still want to go, you book the tickets/hotel/car and board the plane.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy.  Ok, maybe sometimes, you have to get a short term visa depending on who your home country is and where you are planning to go.  But that is usually painless and a involves quick trip to the embassy.  You are still on your way in short order.  Upon landing, you simply queue up at the Immigration line of choice and stamp your way through.  Sometimes you will have to pay a reciprocity fee (their country charges you to enter, because yours charges their citizens to enter) and then you are good for 30, 60, 90 days.  Like I said, as easy as pie.

But moving to a new country; the bureaucracy becomes a devil of a job.

When we landed on Czech soil in February, we did just what anyone passing through would do, stood in line at Immigration and had our passports stamped.  But unlike many others, we had already signed duplicates and triplicates of various different papers and documents so that our Visa's would already be in progress and B would be allowed to work in the country.  We had also had our picture taken a few times because each piece of paper needed a specific size picture attached.  So, by the time landed, there were already hours of signatures and embassy visits behind us.

We quickly needed to get our Visas in process on this side of the pond.  Yes, it had to be done in person.  Yes, it had to be done outside of our "home" country (a quick trip to Slovakia).  And, yes, it had to be done quickly as we only had 90 days (which seems like a long time, but this is the government we are talking about.  They don't ever always work quickly).  Yep, it was going to take all day.  So, B woke very early the very first Thursday we were in town and spent a very long and boring day doing a lot of waiting.  Thankfully, we had given him our power of attorney so none of the rest of us had to go.   Unfortunately we had to go back a few weeks later and pick up the paperwork.  Fortunately, we could send someone to do it for us.  And unfortunately, B's was the only paperwork completed which is a big point,  as you will see in a moment.

Short term Visa in hand we were told we now had to register them at the Police Headquarters.  I explained to them that I did not have my Visa yet, so how could I register it?  Did not matter, I still had to register.  So we dropped the kids at school, fought the traffic for an hour or so, and arrived just in time for them to tell me that I did not have to be there since I did not have a Visa to register.  Uh, didn't I just say this?  Two hours of my time wasted, but at least B got his registered.  But no sooner had I gotten home than I got an email stating that I would have to come back as soon as possible.  They had been mistaken, because even though I didn't physically have my Visa, I still had to register my presence in the country.  (Didn't they do that when they stamped my passport at the airport?)  I don't argue with the government though so back I went again.  And then again, 3 weeks later, when we got our long term Visas.  And, then again, when those expired and our long long term Visas (known as resident Visas) came in.  Thankfully the girls did not have to come with us for any of it! And I wish I didn't have to either, but such is the life of an adult.

Visas - check and complete.  We could now legally live in Prague for the next 2 years.  Done, right?  Well...

Now it was time to become real residents.  What do I mean by real?  Well, we could simply live here with our Visas and carry them around in our passports for the rest of time we were here.  We would legally be here, but it would give me the chance to lose my passport, oh, a million different ways every single day.  And if I lost my passport, or one of the girls, that would mean replacing it and a lot of paperwork and travel time and bureaucracy...and you are starting to see how much I like bureaucracy and paperwork, right?  And B's company just prefers to drive me crazy with paperwork  that we have everything squared away.  So, basically, we needed to apply for insurance, our birth numbers and ID cards.

Our first project was to get our Czech insurance.  Because without it, we could not get our birth numbers so that we could apply for our ID cards.  Everyone in the Czech Republic has insurance that is paid for through taxes.  Its a good system but from what I understand we don't qualify for that but we can get VZP insurance, which is private.  No visit to any office was required for this, but I do remember signing a bunch of documents I couldn't ready (that is a whole post in and of itself - who knows what I am promising people when I sign the official looking documents).

Not a clue what it says.  I just know it is an insurance card I will never use since we have our own.

This card came through and I was all of a sudden receiving requests for the girls and I to show up at the ministry (again) to sign more paperwork and give drops of blood and the third toe on my left foot.  I kid about the last two, I think...again, I can't read anything I sign.  I left the ministry that night after almost 2 hours with hungry girls, but still had to leave behind a sullen husband because there were still a few more hours of paperwork to be done.  At last it was all churning slowly through the wheels of the government.  Little did I know we still had a few trips to go but the end was in sight.

They called us a a few months later and told us they were ready for us to show up in person.  We needed to be fingerprinted for our ID's and at the same time we could pick up our birth numbers.  The ID/birth number combo is similar to what we had in Chile (click here to see that process).  They are an ID card and social security number all rolled into one but with a couple of differences - everyone is issued one at birth, whether they want one or not, and the numbers are public and used for everything.

Since all of the forms seem to have been filled out the last time we were at the ministry, all we did was show up, sign where asked to, nod when asked to and give them our finger prints.  But this time the girls had to be there in person - hard to give their fingerprints for them.  And then we did it all over again when we went to pick up our final cards EXACTLY 3 weeks later.  Yes, exactly.  They ask you when you come in to give your fingerprints and signatures if you are available 3 weeks from today at this exact hour or a bit after.  If you say no, they will not process any of your paperwork and you can come back and try again.  Thankfully, we were available this time, so it was not a wasted trip.

We were finally done.  9 months in, ad we are finally official.  Well, until we have to do it all again in two years...

Excuses, excuses...

I haven't posted in awhile.

But that doesn't mean I haven't been busy.  What I have done in the past few weeks is received a shipment of 301 boxes that consist of everything I own, scheduled and executed numerous play dates, been a mother on a daily basis to two, still small, children.  We bought a car, had our dog shipped to us, and tried to learn our way around a bit.  I have unpacked the boxes that I mentioned before, put away most of the contents of said boxes, and somehow still made it to the zoo, the small Eiffel Tower, the mirror maze and I can't count how many parks.  I have taken pictures, I have written posts and, somehow, I have yet to get the two to meet online.

I will.  Just give me a week or two because now I have my parents in town, Easter and two trips to fit in within the next two weeks.  It always works this way when you move.  And it is the reason I waited to start my last blog until after the settling in period.  I thought I had it down this time.  I mean, this was old hat and I could easily keep up with it all.

I was wrong.

But I will get to it.  The posts about moving and the zoo and all we have done in the past month will be posted. And they all will be linked from here so you don't miss them, because I am going to break my cardinal rule of blogging and I am going to post date them.  So they will be found before, not after, this post.  I am doing this because I am writing a memoir for my family, as much as a blog for others, and I want to keep it in chronological order.  Nothing sinister, no hidden agenda.  And I can sort of, kind of, a little bit justify it by saying that most of the posts were written when they happened, I just needed to pick the right pictures and edit them (the posts, not necessarily the pictures).

I will be posting the updates all in one batch - so you may all of a sudden be about 5 posts behind.  Please catch up if you have the time.  If not, I understand.  Lack of time is what got me in this predicament in the first place.

***Updated - here is the link on buying a car;   the zoo trip;   delivery of our possessions;  moving the dog;  Lookout Tower and Mirror Maze

Possessions

They are just things.  Objects made of wood, metal, plastic and paper.  But they are yours, and they make your house into a home.  And when the entirety of your belongings are packed into 301 boxes, then tightly fit, like a puzzle, into a large metal container, and sent off to navigate the seven seas for weeks on end, just so that your container can be trucked back to your doorstep 10 weeks later, suddenly your worldly belongings take on a bit more importance than merely being things.  You realize that if something happens to your container, be it a leak, a fire or simply being lost at sea (yep, 500 hundred containers at the bottom of the ocean), the only material belongings you will have left will consist of what you managed to pack in the 10 suitcases you brought with you.

Suddenly a bit of panic sets in.  And not just because your things are out of your control for such an extended period of time.  And not because you are really that attached to these pieces of wood and metal, paper, and plastic.  You are, but you also know that there are things that are more important.  You know people who have lost it all, and come out the other end, stronger and with a restored faith in humanity for all the help that was provided them.  You know that it wouldn't be the end of the world if a freak accident befell your shipment.  But you also know that it also wouldn't be easy to handle either.  Again, not simply because you are attached to material things, but because they aren't only your possessions, they are also your memories, your heirlooms, your snapshots and your treasures.  And they are a lifeline to your previous life.  They are one of the only things that will be the same, one of the only things that will be able to make you feel like you are home like you are still you when you finally reach your new land.

Because when you packed up your things and sent them on ahead, you left behind just as much, if not more.  You left behind friends that you made fast and furiously and then had to leave just as quickly.  You will once again be dependent on your GPS to get further than your driveway because all of the roads will be different.  It won't just be a few things that change, but pretty much everything.  In most cases, you will have to start all over again.  And I mean ALL over.  The girls will have to settle into new schools.  You will have to make sure that the family adjusts to their new house and embraces it as home.  You will have to learn new rules for driving, you will learn to navigate new bureaucracies, and you will do it all in a new language.  You will find that none of the brands that you finally learned to love in your last country, will be available in your new one.  So you will have to find new favorite foods, new brands of laundry detergent and even a new toilet paper.  Everything will be unfamiliar, indecipherable and unrecognizable.  And all you will long for will be something old, something of yours.  Something that grounds you to who you are and where you come from.  Because you can start to forget even that when it is so painfully obvious that you are a stranger in a strange land each and every time you walk out your front door.  You will yearn to be surrounded by the things that you know, to be surrounded by the things that hold your memories, the things that have been with you through it all.

And so will your children.  They will have new schools where they will be the new kids - again.  They will have to make new friends and adjust to hearing and learning, another new language.  These creatures that thrive on consistency and daily routines that don't vary will have to chuck it all out the window and start all over.  Except for their belongings.  Their beloved blankies, their special stuffed animal, their art supplies and their toys.  It's amazing what these few things can do to make their house feel like their new home.  They will ask you for them, repeatedly.  They will have to be reassured, time and again, that it all really did get packed and not just left behind.  71 days is a long time to little people, an eternity indeed.  71 days is a long time to an adult.

So, imagine how excited we are that are things are finally coming home to us.  Finally, we won't be living in a house that echoes from emptiness, but hopefully in a home that reverberates with the laughter of a family, settled.

Living in Transition

About a month ago, we were given the keys to our new house.  We were all very excited to be leaving the hotel portion of our transition behind us and were ready to have a bit more space to get away from each other stretch out in.  Be careful what you wish for, because even though we have moved into our new house, none of our things have moved in with us.  We are still living out of the same suitcases we came here with.  We are still using rented kitchen supplies .  I am still sleeping on a mattress that has no right to call itself a mattress.  We made the decision to move in, instead of staying in hotels, because it really does get old eating out every single meal, not to mention what it does to your waistline.  And we were were tired of living on top of each other with no real rooms to call our own.  Hotel living is fun for the first week but by week 5... We figured that squatting at our own house would be better in comparison.  And, in most aspects, we were right.

There are challenges to living with the bare minimum.  For one, you have to buy whatever it is you need to live -garbage cans, towels, chairs, beds and linens for them - even though you already own them.  Second, you have to remember what it is that you really need to live.  You end up making a lot of trips to the same store because you forget that you don't have, but desperately need, something.  Something like a can opener or a corkscrew (yes, this is a desperate need).  You forget you don't have a measuring cup, or a wooden spoon or even towels.  Yep, things you usually have handy so you don't think about them until you really need them.  Ikea's check out personnel and I are so familiar to each other we nod and smile when we see each other (it's all we can do, we don't speak the same language).

Even with some new things, it is still pretty vacant in our house.  If you talk to me on the phone you will hear the echoing of the empty rooms in the background. We don't have any extra's, and we don't have furniture in most of our rooms, but we have what we need.  Most importantly, we have each other and that is what is keeping us sane.

Living in transition isn't always easy, but its only for a couple of months, and we are finally almost at the end of it.  In fact, our container is supposed to have made it to Germany today - 8 weeks since they drove it away from in front of our house in Chile.  Germany means that it is only a customs clearance and a semi ride away.  Fingers crossed we will have our things in the next two weeks...though the girls may prefer it takes a little longer because once we get our things there will be no more scooter riding in the basement allowed.

At least they have a TV and place to sit...

Notice we don't even have doors yet on the upper cabinets...

MadHatter has two beds - but I could only put one together before I had hand cramps and blisters.

And Stinkerbell only gets a mattress on the floor...the one that belongs to MadHatter's other, still boxed, bed.

But I think they are still better off than we are.  Sleeping on a pull out couch is fine for a day or two.  I am now going on 4 weeks (I say I because B is never in the country).

And this is what every other room looks like...I won't bore you with pictures of all of them.

Ah, Paris in the...Wintertime (but it felt like Spring)

One month ago, we arrived in Prague to start our new lives.  Which means I am a month late in posting about our quick trip to Paris.  But at least I have an excuse - not a good one maybe - but a reason none-the-less.  You see, just as I finished downloading the pictures to my computer, I promptly spilled a glass of water on the keyboard (thankfully, this was my old computer that was going to the girls anyway).  No amount of drying and prying up keys to clean underneath would make it functional again, so I was out of luck in getting the pictures uploaded.  Heck, I was out of luck even signing on to the computer, as I couldn't type my password.  My only hope was to get a wireless keyboard and mouse and hope that the keyboard was the only fatality of that day.  Last week I finally got around to getting the keyboard and lo and behold, I have access to the pictures again.  Because what is a post about Paris without pictures?

Explanation over...I give you Paris, Part 1

As soon we found out that our paperwork/Visas would be ready for us to make the move to Prague in mid-February, we began making the final plans and locking in dates.  When we made our flight reservations, we quickly realized that our route would be taking us from Santiago to Paris and then on to Prague.  B and I had an aha moment.  We had found the perfect way to spend a few of those many transitional hotel days...a 4 day layover...in Paris.  We called the travel agent, re-booked the flights to include the layover, and promptly told the girls.  Maybe we should have waited on that last part because we heard, "How many sleeps until we go to Paris?" for the next 2 months.  They were beside themselves with excitement.  If you asked MadHatter, anytime during that period, what she was looking forward to most about moving to Prague, she would tell you "seeing the Eiffel Tower".  (We got more than a few confused looks from people).

Finally, the day had arrived.  The girls were so excited I was worried that they would not be able to sleep on the 14 hour flight.  Heck, I was so excited, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to sleep.  Paris is one of my favorite cities in the world, and I hadn't been since B and I spent part of our honeymoon there in 2006.  But I digress.

After a lot of broken sleep, we landed.  We got all 17 of our bags into the taxi and MadHatter promptly glued her nose to the window.  She did not move it from that spot unless she was asking where the Eiffel Tower was.  We arrived at our rental apartment, carried all 17 bags through two halls, and up 6 flights of stairs.  There was an elevator, but if you know elevators in Paris, you know that only two bags could go up at a time. Alone, because with two large bags in there, there was no room for a live human.  It was easier to just carry some of them up.

This was the apartment.  Those are the stairs.  Yep, lots of winding, small steps.  Not easy to get up there but once you did, the views were awesome...

We didn't get much time to enjoy the views though, because MadHatter was very anxious to get out and see the...wait for it...Eiffel Tower.  So we bundled up and headed out.  Not moving fast enough for MadHatter's liking, which is ironic because she is our slow mosey-er on most occasions.

Let's get a move on Mom.  We are almost there...I hope.

 And suddenly, there is was.  Across the park.  She stopped to take a picture with it (posing just like it) and then ran across the park to get to it.  She couldn't contain her giddiness!  Stinkerbell thought it was cool, but I think she is still just a bit young to get it all.

We went up in the elevator and took in the views.  At least some of us did.  Stinkerbell and I aren't so keen on getting anywhere close to the edge.  It just freaks me out.  And it was really, really windy up there (so much so that they closed the top floor) so the whole thing was just swaying in the breeze.  I swear, as I do each time I go up, I will never do that again.  But the views were stunning, and B convinced Stinkerbell to let him hold her to see the view.

It had been a long day, considering it started in Santiago the night before, so we headed back to the apartment after a quick dinner and fell into a deep sleep.  We had a big day ahead of us tomorrow, after all.

Bright eyed the next morning, we hopped a subway train to the Louvre.  As our kids are so small, we figured that we would spend an hour or two just hitting the highlights and move on.  I forgot that we have a 6 year old that thinks she is 26 and loves (loves) museums.  We spent the better part of 6 hours there.  Enough time that I was bored.  She wanted to know the history of everything.  She wanted to see all of the rooms.  She couldn't stop looking and wandering and asking questions.  Good thing B loves museums as much as she does.  Stinkerbell and I - not so much.  Even the Louvre.  Stinkerbell curled up and fell asleep.  I really couldn't follow suit, so I took some pictures...

She wanted to take a picture with every statue she saw.  And she wanted to be posing just like them in each picture.  She got more than a few people taking her picture as we wandered around.

She couldn't figure out how to get rid of her arms to pose like Venus de Milo.

We finally ended the trip late in the afternoon by touching the bottom of the inverted pyramid and heading out into the Tuileries.  Which, in late winter, are no more special than any other dormant garden in the world, but when in full bloom they are spectacular.  Maybe we will have to go back to see them in bloom...hint, hint.

We crossed to Le Rive Gauche (left bank) to walk a bit and have dinner at our favorite restaurant, L'Entrecote.   It's funny that we love it so much because they only serve one thing for dinner - L'Entrecote steak and fries.  Yep, it's the only thing you are getting for dinner, though they do have a handful of appetizers and deserts.  When on our honeymoon, B and I ate here 2 times in 3 days.  It is that good, but it is famous and doesn't take reservations, so you better be in line by 6:30 so you get a table when it opens at 7.  We had a bit of time to kill so we wandered up the streets and took in the sites.

This picture is just for my brother, Spike.  Someone stole our idea.  This was the only thing we could see in the whole store.  One outfit.  Our shoe store should be right next door.

We stumbled upon the bridge of locks.  Which we were scheduled to visit tomorrow, Valentine's day.  You'll have to come back and read the second post of our Paris trip for the whole story on this bridge and why people put locks all over it.

The girls were ready for dinner by then.  And so were we.  We headed to go stand in line - and goof around a bit while doing it -

By the time we were done with dinner, we were ready for bed.  All of us, not just the little's.  A short subway ride home and we were slumbering peacefully, dreaming of all the fun things we had planned for the next day.

Czech-ing out Cars

There are some a lot of things that you do differently when you live an expat life and adopt an expat schedule.  You study, and hopefully learn, a new language every few years.  You make friends, fast and furiously.  You adopt new favorites for most things - toilet paper, toothpaste, cleaning products - because the brands that you are used to buying are just not available where you now live.  Same goes for food.   And you buy and sell cars at an unusually rapid pace.

It still kills me that I have to sell a perfectly good car after a few years, just to go and buy another new car, just to have to sell it again before I feel I have even broken it in.   But with laws being legal and such, I have no choice.  The two countries we have moved to in the past 3 years have very strict, and expensive, rules about importing cars from other countries.  In Chile's case, it was just downright illegal to bring a used car into the country.

So why not just buy used, or better yet, certified used once you settle in, you ask?  Especially since you know all about the steep depreciation factor and the fact that you will be selling almost before the new car smell has a chance to wear off?

There are a few reasons.  Certified used does not exist in all countries and finding an used car at a dealership can be tough.  Usually you have to buy an used car directly from the person selling it and you just never know what you are going to get.  We have heard many a horror story about what expats do to their cars in the few short years they own them.  And then they have no problem cleaning them up pretty, and not disclosing the problems/accidents/lack of warranty compliance, and passing them on to you.  I mean, why would they, they won't be around to hear the complaints, they will be in another country by the time you figure it all out.  So, we made the decision that buying new would take that uncertainty out of the equation.  One less thing to worry about when you already have plenty on your plate.

Having purchased 3 cars in 8 years, you would think that we would be pretty good at it by now, right?  Wrong.  Because everything keeps changing on us.  The US has one set of rules, makes and model. There, I had the Kelly Blue Book to make sure we were getting a good deal and I had Consumer Reports to make sure we got a safe car.  We could lease, or finance, or buy certified used.  Here, we didn't have any of those resources and that can create some interesting issues.

First issue, I didn't recognize most of their popular makes - Škoda, Dacia, Renault (though I had heard of the last) - and the few I did recognize - Peugeot, Mercedes, Volkswagen- are all still high end imports in the US.  Nothing that I knew anything about.  It meant the first order of business was research, research, research.

Here in the Czech Republic the number one Make is the Škoda.  Škoda is the low end of the Volkswagen line, is built here in the Czech Republic and makes up about 50% of all new car sales here in the Czech Republic.  But it is still an expensive SUV choice, and out of our budget, which was issue number 2.  The budget.

Our budget isn't just a guideline, it is the line.  We don't have the luxury of getting a lease or a loan when living out of the country.  We must pay for our cars in cash at time of purchase so we are limited by the amount of cash we can shell out at any given time.  It's great for the fact that you don't pay any interest.  It isn't so great on the pocketbook.

After weeks of research, we had decided we would go with the Dacia Duster.  Before we even left Santiago.  It had great reviews, it was large enough and small enough all at the same time, and it was well within our price range.  Luckily we had a contact at  Renault (they own Dacia).  Win Win!

Which turned out to be not such a Win Win... We quickly learned a lesson in why you would never buy a car without seeing it in person.  We took one look at the Duster and instantly knew this was not what we wanted or needed.  It may have great reviews and work for others but it just wasn't sturdy enough for our family.  I felt like I was going to break the door handle each time I touched it.  And the final deal breaker - it only comes as Manual Transmission.  I have to juggle enough things with two little kids fighting in the back seat, figuring out the roads here in Europe, and making sure I am not exceeding the 50 km speed limit (about 30 mph) without having to deal with a stick shift too.  No go.  Back to square one.

Thankfully the Renault showroom was right next door (they own Dacia).  And in about 3 minutes I knew I had found the car I wanted.  I just needed B to make it happen.  Which he is good at. If he speaks the language.   Issues 3 and 4, all in one.

We don't speak Czech.  Most workers at the car dealerships don't speak English.  We stumbled through with a translator and a few phone calls to a work associate of B's.  We knew what make and model we wanted, and we wanted it as soon as possible (I had kids to get to school).  The dealer could get us the car in 4-6 months.  What?  Yep, they have to order the car with our specifications and then wait for it to be made and shipped.  They do not have an inventory of cars waiting on the lot to be purchased.  Our only option was to take the one on the showroom floor if we wanted one sooner.  And we were lucky to get that offer as that is not the norm.  We discussed, and decided that was the way to go.  I left B to do the haggling and we finally had a deal.  Which is where we were confronted with Issue 5...we found out we couldn't actually purchase a car until we had our Czech ID cards.  Which could take a couple of weeks.  Or a year.  Seems that government time lines are the same all over the world.

About an hours worth of phone calls later, we agreed to transfer the cash, a coworker of B's agreed to put the car in her name, and we signed a bunch of paperwork that could have said that we were giving the dealership access to all of our bank accounts, our first born child and a toaster because we couldn't read a word of it.  But we had a car that would be ready in two weeks.  A car we don't even really own.  Sure, we paid for it, we pay the insurance on it, and we drive it.  But anytime B's coworker wants to, she could come and drive off with it and be within her rights because her name is on the title.  

Told you things were a bit different...When in Rome (or in our case, Prague).

Kitchen Creative

When we decided to move into our house, instead of staying in hotels/apartments until our things arrived, we knew there were going to be some adjustments that needed to be made.  One of the biggest was how we were going to be able to cook and eat in our empty kitchen.  Yes, we had a stove and a refrigerator and freezer, but we had no plates, no utensiles, no pots and pans.  We thought about buying the bare necessities but it seemed ridiculous to spend that kind of money when we had all of our stuff coming in a month or so.  So, we set out to find a place to rent it to us for the month.  Easier said than done.  Seems there isn't a big market for rented kitchen supplies.  But thanks to our relocation agent, we finally contracted with a catering company, the only place she could find that would even consider renting.

They delived everything last week.  They gave us all they had that they could bear to part with for 5 weeks.  We got dishes, glasses, tea cups and wine glasses.  They gave us utensils and a salt and pepper shaker.  And they gave us two pots and a pan.  And that is it.  All I would have to cook with.  Not easy.

The first night I started easy.  Chicken and CousCous.  At least I think that is what it was - I couldn't read any of it.  And at the time I bought it all, I didn't have a cell phone so I couldn't use my translation app.

Yep, that is Chicken.

And that is CousCous,  But good luck reading the instructions...

I had to look up how to make the CousCous online since there weren't any words that I even remotely recognized on the back of that box.  I got the water started, in a pot that was meant to cook for 100, and waited for it to boil (which was going to take a bit in that large pot even though it wasn't a lot of water) and started in on cutting the chicken.  With a butter knife.  I made do with what I had.  

And it was all very funny in the general scheme of things.  My stove looked like I should be cooking for a huge party and yet it was just me and the girls...

Dinner turned out just fine but I did run out the next day and buy a few things I just couldn't get by without.  A knife, a measuring cup, a large spoon and a small frying pan.  It's still pretty interesting cooking around here, but it has made making 3 meals a day a bit less tedious and a lot more creative, so I can't complain.

Moving the Dog

Almost as soon as we found out we were moving, we started making plans for Dulce.  For many expat families, that means finding a new home for their pets.  As Dulce is a part of our family, there was no way that we could ever have left her behind.  And so the search for the best way to get her to the Czech Republic had begun.  Looking back, I was naive in thinking it would be as easy as getting her a vet visit and boarding her on the plane.  Looking back, I wish we had started planning this the day she was born...

I started with the internet.  I wanted to know what the requirements were for getting her out of Chile and what the Czech Republic required for her entry.  Turns out, that was the easiest part of the whole thing because as we found out, we were moving to one of the most dog friendly countries in the world.  All Dulce would need was to have her shots updated, be micro-chipped and have a clean bill of health.  Simple.

And then it got a bit more complicated.  

We talked to our vet, who also does pet relocations and asked her to give us a quote on getting Dulce home with us. The fist thing she asked was if Dulce was flying with us, or by herself.  We actually hadn't thought about it yet because we didn't even have a leave date yet.  Looks like we had to sit down and plan out all of the dates - packers, moving out of the house, leaving the country, entering Prague etc...  After making a calendar of dates it turned out that Dulce would have to fly by herself, after the family had already left.  Not the ideal situation but since we couldn't get into our house in Prague until the 1st of March, but had to leave our house in Chile the 1st of February, we really didn't have much choice.  We had a month of hotels in between  houses and a trip to Paris.  There was no way Dulce could come with us on the same flights.  Our first priority was now to find her a place to stay for those 30 days that the rest of the family would be in hotels.

Thank goodness for our friends M and A! Even though they already have two dogs and a cat, they still took on another.  We were so relieved and grateful for their offer and the great care they took of our dog.  They treated her like family and sent her back to us happy, healthy and even a few pounds lighter (if you know Dulce, you know that she could use to lose a few).  We couldn't have done it without them, this is a fact.

We called the vet back and explained our timeline and our needs. She came back with a quote of what it would cost.  And my jaw hit the floor.  I could have purchased 4 economy tickets from Chile to Prague for the amount of her quote.  Sure, the quote included her vaccinations, her ticket for the flight and her paperwork but it was still well over $5000.  We needed to keep working on this...

We did have the vet come and chip her, so at least that part was complete.  She was also going to come back at a date closer to her departure so that we could vaccinate her (it had to be done within 30 days of her leaving) and we sent out messages to everyone we knew with pets that had been brought into the country.  We needed to find something a bit less expensive. The thing is, you can't just purchase a ticket for a pet on any old airline.  If you are not travelling with your pet, you have to contract with a freight company and they must take care of the paperwork.  And the freight company has to work with the airline of your choice.  It makes it a bit complicated.  But one of our newest friends came through.  They had just moved from Peru, and brought their dog.  We contacted the company they used and loved them immediately.  

They quoted us a move for Dulce that included pick up at our home (well, the home of M and A), transportation to the airport, all paperwork needed, an EU passport (yep, my dog has a passport), her flight cost and someone to receive her on the other end, for about half of the original quote.  The only sticking point was that they could only get her to Germany.  About 4 hours away from us her in Prague.  But the cost of gas was a lot less than the cost of a flight, so we went ahead and had them book it all.  

We scheduled a date, dropped Dulce off with a million hugs and kisses and promised her we would see her soon.

The look on the girls faces when Dulce walked in the door this Friday was priceless.  They knew she was coming but I don't think they believed it until they saw her walk through the door.  

As for Dulce, she hasn't been able to stop licking or snuggling anyone within reach.  And we are only happy to oblige.  A little piece of home arrived today, and it was welcomed with open arms.  Literally.

They couldn't stop moving - so all of the pictures are blurry.  My fault - I really wasn't prepared.

First Day of School, Again

Again?  How can you have a first day of school more than once?  When you're an expat, you come to find that anything is possible.   Well, except for getting your things from one country to the next in a timely manner.  I just don't think that is within the realm.

Today, MadHatter had her 3rd first day of school within one school year, and Stinkebell, her second.  It's a rare occurrence but, because we moved from the Southern Hemisphere, which starts the school year in March...

(first day #1 for both of them)

And then we moved MadHatter from a Chilean school to the International School, which starts it's school year in July...

(2nd first day of school, and the official start of Kindergarten)...

And then we went and totally messed things up by moving north of the equator during the south of the equator summer break (do you need a minute to catch up?), so she is starting Kindergarten for the second time - now in Prague.

Follow that?  I think we would break that poor girls spirit if we tried to do this again during her very first year of official school.  I have tried to explain to her that this won't happen each time she starts school.

Stinkerbell is a bit easier since she is still in Pre-K.  She just goes to school whenever it is in session.

And today it was in session...Finally (says one tired Mama after  2 1/2 months of vacation and 4 weeks in a hotel).  I didn't have much to celebrate the occasion as everything we own is still packed, and we are still in transition.  I did what I could when the girls asked for a sign to commemorate the occasion...

You know those frames that showcase the yearly school picture in a small oval shape and then the graduation picture in the center?  Yeah, that may not work for us.  TCK problems...